# Will shipping clerks be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Shipping clerks score 47 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 43%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 38% outright, and 19% stays with people. - **38%** AI can do it - **43%** AI helps - **19%** Needs a person Moderate exposure Higher than 67% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 11 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 4 of them today, speeds up 5 and leaves 2 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Compute amounts, such as space available, shipping, storage, or demurrage charges, using computer or price list. Charge and space calculations are arithmetic against rate tables. | 75% AI can do it | | Prepare documents, such as work orders, bills of lading, or shipping orders, to route materials. Bills of lading and shipping orders are routine, template-driven documents. | 72% AI can do it | | Record shipment data, such as weight, charges, space availability, damages, or discrepancies, for reporting, accounting, or recordkeeping purposes. Logging weights, charges and discrepancies is mostly structured data entry. | 65% AI can do it | | Determine shipping methods, routes, or rates for materials to be shipped. Transport management software already selects methods, routes and rates. | 60% AI can do it | | Compare shipping routes or methods to determine which have the least environmental impact. Emissions comparison can be computed with tools, but needs data and review. | 55% AI helps | [See what AI can take on across a procurement team](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/procurement/) ## How shipping clerks compare All occupations (923) Office and administrative support (51) **Shipping clerks score 47**, marked by the dark line. Each dot is a score, darker where more occupations share it. The short marks show the averages, 37 for all occupations and 57 for office and administrative support. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $45,260 a year, May 2025 People employed 816,870 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs \-7.6% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Check freight rate calculations against carrier price lists in Excel - Resolve receiving discrepancies in warehouse management system WMS exception queues - Inspect received goods against manifests before signing receipts - Lead damage and shortage calls with carrier representatives by phone - Reconcile shipment records and charges in SAP software ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Postal service clerks38 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/postal-service-clerks/) - [Stockers30 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/stockers/) - [Inventory checkers30 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/inventory-checkers/) - [Mail sorters20 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/mail-sorters/) - [Mail clerks25 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/mail-clerks/) ## Questions about shipping clerks and AI Will AI replace shipping clerks? Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly computing shipping and space charges and preparing bills of lading. Moving freight by handtruck or conveyor, packing and sealing, and phone calls with carriers stay with people because they need physical work and live contact. Which shipping clerk tasks is AI taking over? Charge and space calculations score 75 on exposure, and bills of lading and shipping orders score 72. Rate tables and document templates are structured, so software already runs them. Recording weights, charges and discrepancies in WMS or SAP is mostly data entry, scoring 65. Which shipping clerk tasks stay human? Delivering materials by handtruck or conveyor scores 5 on exposure, and packing and sealing scores 10. Both need hands on freight, which only a person can do. Resolving damages and shortages with carriers scores 40 because it needs live conversation, even though AI can draft the emails. How can shipping clerks stay valuable? Move toward the steps software leaves open. Check every rate calculation in Excel against the current carrier price list before it goes out. Inspect goods against manifests before signing receipts in your WMS, and lead damage claims and shortage calls with carriers by phone. ## Related jobs - [Freight agents49 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/freight-agents/) - [Production clerks63 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/production-clerks/) - [Warehouse workers17 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/warehouse-workers/) - [Order clerks68 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/order-clerks/) ## Next steps for shipping clerks - ### Check your job Your job title is a rough guide. Your actual tasks decide your score. Paste your job description or CV and see which of your tasks AI can do. [Check your job](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/ai-exposure-checker/) [Check your CV](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/cv-checker/) ### Check which roles in your team AI can take on We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) ## Related topics - [**Jobs AI can't replace**Cement masons score lowest, at 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-cant-replace/) - [**Jobs most at risk from AI**Proofreaders score highest, at 76.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-most-exposed-to-ai/) - [**High-paying jobs with low AI exposure**Radiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-paying-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Entry-level jobs with low AI exposure**Cement masons need little prior training and score 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/entry-level-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Jobs AI speeds up the most**For natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-speeds-up/) - [**AI and jobs in Malta**15 iGaming roles graded task by task.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/malta/) - [**Skills that keep work human**The skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/skills/) - [**Jobs A to Z**Every job we publish, by first letter.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs/) - [**AI exposure by industry**Average scores for 22 occupation groups.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industries/) - [**Write a CV screening software can read**How applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cv-screening-guide/) - [**AI for businesses**The tasks to automate first in each team and industry.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/) - [**How we score AI exposure**The grading, the weights and every source.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/) Occupation data from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and modified by Aigentcy. O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wage, employment and projection data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EU occupation names from ESCO, European Commission. AI usage signals from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY) and Microsoft Research (CC BY 4.0). [Methodology and sources](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). Scores © Aigentcy. Quote them with a link to the page.